Safety device for starting-motors.



G. B. MILLS;

SAFETY DEVICE FOR STARTING MOTORS.

AYPLIG ATION FILED MAR.7,1913.

Patented Mar. 2,

ATTORNEY gme is running under UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHESTER B. MILLS, OF EAST MCKEESPORT, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR T0 WESTING- HOUSE ELECTRIC AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF PENN- SYLVANIA.

SAFETY DEVICE FOR STARTING-MOTORS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 2, 1915.

Application filed March 7, 1913. Serial No. 752,617.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be itknown that I, CHESTER B. MILLs, a citizen of the United States, and a resi- McKeesport, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Safety Devices for Starting-Motors, of which the following is a specification.

own power.

It is a common practice to provide gas engine driven vehicles with suitable starting motors, which are, ordinarily, dynamo-electric machines. Gearing is usually employed to connect the motor to the engine shaft and, in most cases, the gears are placed in mesh by a hand or foot-operated lever or It may happen, after the engine has been started, or during the operation of the vehicle, that the operator, through accident or mistake, may attempt to mesh the connecting gears. Since the minimum speed of a gas engine is relatively high, any attempt to mesh the gears while one of them is rotating at a high speed will more than likely result in the breaking of the gear teeth.

For the above reasons, it is desirable that a means be provided for preventing the operation of the starting pedal when the enits own power at any speed.

My invention provides a mechanical lock which prevents the operation of the startingpedal after the engine has been started and the motor disconnected.

In the drawings, Figure l is a side view of a portion of an automobile with my invention attached thereto. Fig. 2 is an enlarged view, in section, of a safety device. *ig. 3 s a view, in section, taken on line IH-HI of Fig. 2.

Referring to Fig. 1, the automobile 1 comprises a. body 2, a frame 3, an enginetihaving an exhaust pipe leading 6, and a fly wheel 7 provided with a gear An electric motor 43 is supported in any suitable manner upon the frame 3 or upon the crank case 9 of the engine, and is provided with a shaft 10 upon which a pinion 11 is slidably keyed to mesh with the fly to a niuiiler wheel gear 8. A grooved collar 1? ing an inclined side 22 and a side 23 that is normal to the rod and is adapted to be engaged by the stem 24 of a fluid pressure device 25 connected to the exhaust pipe 5 by a pipe 26 and supported by the dashboard.

he device 25 is shown in detail in Fig. 2. The casing is composed of two cup between which is placed a thin sheet metal diaphragm 29 having corrugations 30, the three members being clamped together by bolts, one being shown at 31. The member 27 is connected to the pipe 26 by a tubular extension 32 through which connections fluid pressure may be transmitted from the exhaust'pipe to the diaphragm 29. Thestem 24 has a reduced portion 33 which passes through a central opening 34 in the diaphragm 29 and is threaded at 35 to receive a nut 36 for clamping the stem and diaphragm tightly together by means of two washers 37 placed on the respective sides of the diaphragm.

he stem 24 is mounted to reciprocate in a bearing formed by a lug 38 on the inner surface of the member 27 and in a bearing formed by a central opening 39 in the member 28. The stem 2% is provided with a curved member 40 which is gage the shoulder 21 when the diaphragm s actuated by fluid pressure and which is normally held out of engagement there with by a spring 41 inside the casing. The member 28 is provided with openlngs 42 to allow the free passage of air in order to prevent any back pressure of the diaphragm When the engine, the pedal 161s pressed forward and the rod 14 and the yoke member 12 are actuated backwardly to slide the pinion 11 into mesh with the fly wheel gear 8, the parts taking the position shown in Fig. 1.

operator desires to start the CJT The stem 24 allows the shoulder 21 to pass Without engagement as no pressure. is exerted upon the diaphragm 29 when the engine is at rest. The motor circuit is closed through any suitable electrical connections, and the engine is started in the usual way. As soon as the explosions of the engine commence, pressure will be communicated to the diaphragm 29 and the stem 24 will be projected into the path of the shoulder 21 When the operator releases the pedal 16, the spring 20 will reciprocate the rod 14 to disengage the pinion 11 from the flywheel gear 8. During this movement, the inclined side 22 of the shoulder 21 will exert a wedg- 7 ing action on the stem 2& and push it upward until the shoulder has passed when the stem will again drop into a position to engage the side 23. The rod 1a is now positively locked against movement to mesh the gears as long as explosions take place, as the diaphragm is provided with an area sufficient to insure its operation at the minimum pressure of the exhaust pipe when the muffler 6 is cut out, When the engine stops and no pressure is communicated to the diaphragm, the spring 41 will holdthestem 24 in its upward position'and the rod 14: may again be reciprocatedvto connect the motor to the engine shaft. I

When the engine is running without explosions as, for example, when the vehicle is coasting down a hill with the clutch connected and the ignition circuit broken, the 7 cylinders act as air pumps and create a pressure in to operate the'safety device. While I have shown' and described the diaphragm as connected to the exhaust pipe, it may be applied to any other portion of the engine structure, such as the cooling pump and crank case, in which pressure is generated continuously during the operation of the engine.

I claim as my invention-:- 1. In combination, an' engine having a shaft, a starting motor, means for operatively connecting said motor to said engine shaft, and means operated by fluid pressure forlocking said connecting means in a disengaged position when said engine is operating under its own power.

2. In combination, an'engine having a shaft, a starting motor, means for opera tively connecting said motor to said engine, and a device actuated by fluid pressure generated by said engine for locking said connecting means in a disengaged position. 3. In combination, an engine shaft, a starting motor, means for operatively connecting said motor to said shaft, and means actuated by fluid pressure for preventing the connecting of said motor to said shaft the=exhaust pipe sufficiently high when the engine is running under its own power.

i In combination, an engine shaft, a starting motor, means for operatively connecting said motor to said shaft, and means actuated by fluid pressure to prevent the actuation of said first means to connect said motor to said shaft when the engine is operating under its own power.

. 5. In combination, an engine having a shaft, a starting motor, gearing mechanism for connecting said motor to said shaft and means actuated by fluid pressure for preventing the meshing of said gearing mechanism when the engine operates under its own power.

6. In combination, an engine having a shaft, a gear member on said shaft, is. starting motor, a pinion adapted to operatively connect said motor to said gear member and a device actuated by fluid pressure for preventing the engagement said gear member when the engine operates under its own-power. V

7 In combination, an engine having a shaft and an exhaust pipe, a starting motor adapted to be operatively connected to said of said pinic-nwith shaft, and a device actuated by fluid pressure from said exhaust pipe and adapted to prevent the connection of said motor to said shaft when said engine is operating under its own power.

8. In combination, shaft and an exhaust pipe, a'starting motor. means for operatively connecting said motor to said shaft, and a member adapted to be actuated by fluid-pressure from said exhaust pipe for preventing the connection of said motor to said shaft when the engine is operating under its own power.

9. In combination, an engine having a shaft and an exhaust pipe, a motor, a slidably mounted shaft adapted to operatively connect said motor to said shaft, a diaphragm adapted to be actuated by fluid pressure from said exhaust pipe, and a member connected to said diaphragm and adapted to engage said slidable shaft.

10. In combination, an engine having a shaft, a starting motor, means for operatively connecting said motor to said shaft, and means actuated by fluid pressure for preventing the actuation of said first means to connect the motor to said shaft when the engine shaft is rotating.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 27th day of February, 1913 an engine having a Witnesses:

RAoUL PRUGGER, B. B. Hnms. 

